


Bees?

by Adventures_in_Writing



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Churchington, M/M, phobia of bees, phobia of insects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 10:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5159603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adventures_in_Writing/pseuds/Adventures_in_Writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He didn’t even know why he hated bugs so much. It made no sense whatsoever. He could usually deal with most insects, telling himself that he was five-hundred times their size (or more!) so he could easily overpower one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bees?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt received on [ my Tumblr](http://an-adventure-in-writing.tumblr.com/): Modern kinda silly? churchington au where wash was in the military and his PTSD has manifested in the form of being terrified of bees. It's not a problem really in winter but in the summer he flinches away from all flying things in case it is a bee and whenever he's walking he watches the ground in case he stands on one.
> 
> I changed this one up slightly so that Wash's fear of bees is a generalised phobia, rather than a manifestation of PTSD

* * *

Insects had never been a problem for Wash, not really. He had spent most of his time in cooler climates, where the weather was too cold all year round for there to be an abundance of the irritating little bugs. Still, Wash preferred winter where snow blanketed the landscapes and killed pretty much everything except for larger mammals that could keep warm.

So, when he’d learned that his long-time partner Church had moved somewhere warm, Wash wasn’t too sure what to do. Church _hated_ cold climates so it made sense that he would get out of one as soon as he could. Washington knew that Church’s hatred of cold places had something to do with a deployment he’d had at Sidewinder. From Church’s stories it sounded like a perpetual arctic winter, which in Wash’s mind sounded perfect. Sadly Church refused to move from where he was, saying that the neigbourhood was a pretty decent place and the apartment he’d been renting had a number of other ex-military dudes living there too. He said it was a good environment and the guys, whilst they could be assholes, were some of the best friends he’d had. Hearing the fondness in Church’s voice when he was explaining where he’d moved to made Wash’s decision for him.

For Church, he’d brave the warmer seasons.

Thankfully when Wash was officially discharged from his special operations unit and the arm, it was winter. Although it didn’t get cold enough to snow, it was still cold enough that the bugs and insects would hibernate for the cooler months.

It was when people started putting away the scarves and beanies, when they started trading out long sleeved jumpers for shirts, that Wash grew nervous.

He didn’t even know why he hated bugs so much. It made no sense whatsoever. He could usually deal with most insects, telling himself that he was five-hundred times their size (or more!) so he could easily overpower one. There was one insect, however, that could make Wash screech in terror and flail his arms if it even drew close to him.

He’d been told all of his life that bees were harmless. That if you left them alone they wouldn’t bother you. That they were a critical part of the environment and that there was nothing to be afraid of. That didn’t really help though. Phobia’s very rarely made sense.

The loud, terrified shriek that came from Wash suddenly startled the group of friends whom had been lounging around in the back garden, music playing from someone’s iPod as they sat around laughing and drinking and talking.

Washington scrambled up from his chair, covering his head with his hands as he made a dive for Church. Church was startled for only a moment before he opened his arms, allowing Wash to squeeze onto the lounge beside him. He wrapped one arm around Wash’s shaking shoulders, gently rubbing his arm up and down, trying to soothe the terrified man.

“It was just a fly, Wash,” Church said, swatting the little buzzing insect away with a hand.

Wash refused to look, knowing that Church would protect him from any bees buzzing about.

“Dude…are you okay?” Tucker asked.

Church patted the top of Wash’s head. The tips of his ears had gone red with embarrassment as Grif chuckled.

“Are you seriously afraid of bugs?” Grif asked.

“You know they can’t hurt you, right?” Donut added.

Church took a swig of his beer. “Nah, he’s just not a big fan of bees.”

“But you’re like…so much bigger than them,” Tucker thought aloud.

Simmons pursed his lips as the others gently teased Wash. “Hey, phobia’s aren’t funny. It’s okay, Wash.”

Finally, Wash looked up at the group. He knew they weren’t being malicious, that they weren’t trying to intentionally hurt their feelings. Being so afraid of bees was pretty stupid. He knew that himself, but it still didn’t matter. He’d jump and shriek at the first thing that even _looked_ like a bee.

“It is just bees?” Simmons continued. “Or is it all insects?”

“Just bees. I know I’m bigger than them, I just…don’t like them. I mean, I hate other insects too but…” he shuddered, “Bees are the worst.”

“But…bees?” Grif asked. There were way more terrifying things to be afraid of. Like bats. Holy shit, now _there_ was a thing to be afraid of. Not that he’d admit it out loud.

“Well, dude. Next time you think you see a bee, you might wanna run to someone that isn’t Church. I know you’ve been together for a while, but I don’t know if you realise just how bad his aim is when trying to hit stuff.”

Church batted away another fly, noticing how Wash flinched as it lazily buzzed about.

“Shut up, Tucker. This one time there was a bee actually on him, and I killed the fuck out of that bee before Wash even knew it was there,” he couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice. Tucker had been right, his aim really wasn’t the greatest, but that had been the single most impressive thing Church had ever done.

“Don’t worry, Wash,” Caboose announced, “We will all protect you from the scary fuzzy bees!”

“I guess the extra help won’t be unappreciated,” Wash smiled, snuggling a little more comfortably against Church, “but Church has done a great job so far.”


End file.
